


Love in Times of COVID

by Ayearandaday



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Ben is secretly a softie, Ben makes a good armcandy, Everyone ships them, F/M, HEA, Idiots in Love, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Rey has a good taste in chocolate and men, Rey is a lucky girl, Rey is part-hamster, Rey loves her candy, Shy Ben Solo, Soft Ben Solo, True Love, idiots to lovers, impeding quarantine, only true love will secretly bring you chocolate, the whole office ships them, they are bad at communication, they are good at pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23341795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayearandaday/pseuds/Ayearandaday
Summary: Facing the impeding lockdown of her office and, more importantly, her chocolate source, Rey desperately tries to replenish her stashes. But why does everyone keep pointing her toward Ben, the local Grumpy Cat and her long-time crush?
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Poe Dameron/Finn, Poe Dameron/hand sanitizer, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 33
Kudos: 219
Collections: Ijustfellintothissendhelp





	Love in Times of COVID

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fulcrum_of_pemberley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fulcrum_of_pemberley/gifts).



> This story begun as a prompt from fulcrum_of_pemberley for two coworkers quarantined together and ended up with Rey's mad quest for chocolate because my sweet tooth gives me a lot of anxiety now that the whole country is under lockdown. Anyway, when life gives you lemons, ahem, quarantine, make fluffy one-shots about two silly space noodles in love, right?

“…since New Republic cares a lot about employee health...” Leia droned on.

Poe stared at her lovingly, clutching a strawberry-scented hand sanitiser to his chest. Gwen, their HR manager, continued distributing the rest of the bottles. Rey grabbed a mango one gratefully. Bless their boss for being so thoughtful.

Two years ago, Rey hadn’t believed in all the praises Poe sung of Leia. Two years ago, she’d been balancing getting a degree and crazy hours at Plutt’s shop, so her susceptibility to fairy-tale fair-working-condition-stories was low. Then Rey had graduated and her sudden dire need of an internship had made her reconsider. And boy, had Poe been right. As far as employers go, New Republic was a really good place. Good as in “paid vacations, sick leaves, and maternity leaves exist.” Good as in “every Friday we order lunch for our employees.” Good as in “we keep all sorts of snacks around from mini Snickers to Goji berries because we’re that extra.” Yep, Rey _loved_ her job.

“Kriff, I would marry that woman,” Poe sighed wistfully.

“Hey!” Finn sounded offended.

“I would marry that woman if not for you, babe,” the other man amended hastily.

“That's better.”

“And Han. Ow!” Poe winced as his wounded boyfriend swatted his forearm.

Rey shook her head at their antics. Ah, to be young and in love. Speaking of… Her eyes automatically landed on Ben Solo, standing behind his tiny mother with his customary “I’m so done with your shit” expression. She sighed. Her friends didn’t share her fascination with Ben. Sure, he filled out his suits like nobody’s business, his hair deserved its own shampoo commercial, and he could totally dust the ceiling without a ladder if he was so inclined, but he was also perpetually channelling Grumpy Cat, not to mention the whole family drama everyone was talking about. Apparently, years ago, Solo had left the family publishing business, Rebellion, and had joined a digital magazine, First Order. Leia, being her stubborn magnificent self, had branched out and created her own digital journal, Resistance. Eventually the Solos had reconciled, First Order’s editor got into trouble, and the two companies merged, creating New Republic.

Rey didn’t care about any of that, not really. As far as she was concerned, Ben Solo was a cute grump probably hiding a heart of gold if he was anything like his father. He was literally walking catnip for her. A catnip tree. Something. Anyway. Rey sighed again. No matter how huge her crush was, Ben was out of her reach.

At first she had thought that dating your co-worker was a huge no-no. That was before Poe had given Finn a Valentine’s kiss in front of a cheering Leia, Rose had completed her enemies-to-friends-to-lovers arc with Hux, and Baz had started openly flirting with Gwen. For a whole whopping second Rey had thought she’d have a chance… until it became obvious that Ben couldn’t stand being in close proximity with her.

“He hates me,” she had whined to her friends.

Rose shared an odd look with her boyfriend.

“Don’t be ridiculous, hon, he’s just shy.”

Rey snorted.

“Seriously, Solo just pulls this whole BBC miniseries Mr. Darcy thing. You mistake his social ineptness for assholery,” Hux added sagely.

Rey got confused at the thought of Armitage Hux watching Pride and Prejudice, but decided to leave it at that.

In any case, the knowledge that Ben might not actually despise her hadn’t helped with her silly attraction. If Rey was in a fanfiction, it would totally be tagged with _Unrequited Crush, One-Sided Attraction, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, T for Thirst, Pining, Lots of Pining._ Yes, she had AO3 and a lot of frustration to work through.

“...making today the last day,” Leia continued.

_Wait, what?!_

“I want you to make sure you're ready to work remotely and if you have any issues we're ready to help you solve them. The IT department, also known as Miss Tico...”

Rey blinked “What’s going on?”

“…Ben will lock the office at…”

“Peanut, we're going on home quarantine,” Finn patted her shoulder.

“When? How?”

“If you'd been listening instead of eyefucking Solo you would know,” Poe smirked, making her flush bright red.

“Today, Peanut. Today is the last day here,” Finn, bless him, explained patiently.

Rey gaped. “But... but...” She started hyperventilating. “My candy!”

If you survive foster care, or worse, _Jakku_ foster care, you develop a special relationship with food. Rey certainly had. Only at New Republic had she realized that food can be so different, that _candy_ can be so various. Sugary treats were supposed to be good, the cheap chocolate she’d occasionally gotten back in Jakku wasn’t bad per se, but out-of-this-world delicious… The office kitchen was filled with seven types of tea and ten types of coffee, all sorts of cookies and chocolate, fruit and veggie snacks, literally _everything_. Rey’s mind was blown by seeing mini Snickers and Kit-Kats lying there free for the taking, but that was before she acquainted herself with [Ritter-Sport](https://www.ritter-sport.de/en_US/index.html) chocolates. Those truly were god’s blessing to humanity. Black, milk, white, with nuts, praline, mousses, or nougat, every single one was a little piece of perfection. Before, Rey had had no idea what marzipan was. Now she was _addicted_.

The thing was that the price blew her mind. For someone who was used to scraping by and counting every penny it was way too much to spend on candy. Obviously, she had stashes. Rey was part-hamster after all. But a prolonged quarantine would empty them pretty quickly and then… and then…

“Hey, you OK?”

_Fucking peachy._

“Peanut, breathe,” Finn commanded.

She stared at him, wide-eyed.

“You don’t understand, the chocolate…”

“Is not going anywhere.”

“But _I_ am!”

“Rey, why don't you ask Solo about it?” Poe suggested gently.

“Yes, ask him,” Finn nodded in agreement.

Her brain suddenly stopped panicking, too confused with the turn of events. “Ben? Why?”

“Er… He's the one to lock the office,” Poe said as if it explained anything. Which definitely _did not._

“So?” Rey frowned, zeroing in on his smirk. Was he laughing at her? Is that why he brought up Solo? “You think it's funny or what?”

Poe huffed. “God, you're so... you.”

_What the hell was that supposed to mean?_

By lunch, Rey’s panic had become more manageable, though still persistent. Everyone around her was determined to leave the office early, but her mind was preoccupied with a different issue.

“Do you think they have more candy in the meeting room?” she asked Rose.

The brunette shrugged. “I don't know, the last meeting was quite intense. Jannah might or might not have stress-eaten it all.”

Rey’s face fell. “Shit.”

Rose shared a worried look with Hux. “What's wrong?”

“What if we end up locked at home for weeks?” Rey asked nervously. “What if my chocolate stash runs out? I would go crazy! Or die! Or both!”

Hux winced. “Too much drama for a Friday.”

“Hon, no one has died from lack of candy,” Rose tried to console her.

Rey glared at her friend. “Wanna bet?”

“If I were you, I would talk to Solo about it,” Hux offered casually.

Rey did a double take. “Excuse me?” Had the ginger hit his head or something?

“He has a point,” Rose quipped.

Rey looked at them both incredulously. “No, he doesn’t. Everyone knows Solo hates sugar.”

Rose and Armie shared the look again. “You think?”

“Yes!”

The couple shrugged. “Well, if you say so.”

_Quarantine messes with people’s heads_ , Rey mused, recalling her colleagues’ odd behaviour. Why would anyone suggest asking _Solo_ of all people about chocolate? That was crazy, right?

Huffing, Rey rounded the corner, elated at the sight of Gwen, Baz, and Kaydel talking. Kay was Leia’s right hand and she used to be HR before the merger. Now that those responsibilities went to Gwen, she mostly focused on being PA and office manager, which meant that she was the one responsible for snacks. Bingo!

“Hey, Kaydel, it's you who orders food for office, right?” Rey asked cheerfully.

“Yup. What's up?” the bubbly blonde responded.

“Um, you see,” the girl stuttered, “there's this thing, I wanted to ask you if there was more of that fancy chocolate, you know...”

The three girls made odd faces. Kay winced a little. “Oh, yeah, sorry, Rey, but...”

“Ask Solo,” interjected Baz.

“What?”

“Tall, dark, and pouty,” she gesticulated widely. “Good hair, hot bod, scares the interns.”

“I know who Solo is,” Rey snapped, not pleased at all that someone else was referring to Ben as hot. _The audacity!_

“So,” Bazine looked at her as if she was an idiot, “go talk to him.”

Rey felt like her brain was this close to exploding. Probably the lack of sugar was showing. “Why?”

“You want that candy, right?” Gwen asked her pointedly. 

“Every single person knows that _Ben hates candy,_ ” Rey enunciated.

“I bet he craves something sweet here and there,” Bazine smirked, wiggling her brows suggestively. _What the hell was going on?_

“Seriously, you'll have more luck asking him,” Kaydel added.

“Uh-huh,” Rey nodded dubiously, leaving the girls to their own devises. It seemed that those hand sanitizers were doctored with weed or something.

She checked the meeting room anyway. Not much luck; the coveted marzipan was long gone and the extra bitter dark chocolate didn’t have the same allure. Rey pocketed it anyway. No need to let it go to waste.

She checked her personal stash. It was a lot; far more than any normal person would have in an office with open food access, bless her hamster heritage. But it didn’t settle her nerves at all. Rey distractedly checked her working files, trying to calm her anxiety. It’s just candy, no big deal, right?

She jumped, startled, as a hand landed on her shoulder. Leia’s concerned face came into view.

“Sorry, dear, are you OK?”

Rey nodded shakily, trying to slow down her heartbeat.

“Ami said you're a bit down,” Leia continued.

Just like Leia, Amilyn Holdo could easily compete for the world’s best boss. She had helped Rey put her statistics degree to good use, turning her into a brilliant analyst. Despite her hardass reputation, Amilyn was composed, soft-spoken, attentive, and always fair. Of course she noticed when there was something wrong with one of her employees.

Rey smiled guiltily. “Oh, no, I'm fine.”

“You know, if I can help you with anything...” Leia offered

“No. Wait, actually, yes.” Rey bit her lip bashfully. _In for a penny, in for a pound._ “Do you by any chance know if we have more of those little fancy chocolate things?”

An odd expression crossed Leia’s face. “Hmm, have you asked my son?”

“Ben?” Now this was certainly something out of X-files. Was it a fast-spreading case of madness or just a massive prank?

“I wasn't aware that I had more than one,” Leia mentioned wryly. “Yes, Ben.”

“Um, no, why?” Rey asked, more confused than ever.

The woman shrugged with that cryptic Mona Lisa smile. “Maybe you should. In the meantime, you have my permission to check the office kitchen. No need to let good candy expire, right?” she winked.

“Yeah, totally,” Rey mumbled, flabbergasted.

“Wonderful. Don't stay too late, OK?” Leia sailed off with a gentle pat on her shoulder.

The remark seemed odd at first. That is, until Rey looked around and realized that the office was practically empty. Right, Leia had allowed them to leave early and most people had done exactly that. Well then, less company in the kitchen. Who said Rey wouldn’t take advantage of that for her important mission to save the candy from expiration?

The search wasn’t particularly productive. There were a few packs of chocolate chip cookies and a half a bag of mini Kit Kats, but that was about it. Resigned, Rey padded back to her work space, ready to pack her stuff and call it a day.

What she wasn’t ready for was to spot a wild Ben Solo with a huge-ass pack of the coveted chocolate in her cubicle. Rey gaped. The fucker! He was trying to steal her candy! A feral sand goblin, her spirit animal, was awakened and ready to show its wrath.

Ben turned to her with a start, looking like a deer in the headlights. “It’s not what it looks like!” he stumbled. “I can explain.”

“I'd like to see you try,” Rey said gravely, contemplating her best angle of attack. Ben was a big man after all. Didn’t matter, she had taken down bigger.

“For you,” he stuttered, shoving the candy into her hands. “It’s for you.”

Oddly enough, he looked scared. Far more scared than a grown man built like that had any business to be.

“OK,” she said slowly. “Why are you giving me this?”

Ben blinked, looking adorably confused. “What do you mean why?”

“Did Leia tell you to?” Rey asked suspiciously.

He blushed. _Wait, what?_ Ben Solo could _blush?_!

“No. I just had it, it's...” He awkwardly ran a hand through his gorgeous locks and for a second Rey lost her train of thought. Was the man of her dreams _shy_?!

“Why did you even have the chocolate in the first place?” she wondered. “You hate sweets. Unless...” What happened next blew Rey’s mind. Ben went tomato-red and looked absolutely terrified.

“I'm so sorry! Please, I swear I’m not a creep. I totally understand if you want to report it to HR, just please…”

“What? Why would I want to report you?” she stared at a loss at the man. “Ben, what’s going on?”

He tugged at his silken locks with such force it must have been painful.

“I… Please know I didn’t mean anything bad, I swear,” Ben said desperately. “Ibuyyoucandy.”

Rey blinked. “Come again?”

“I buy you candy,” he repeated slower, looking at her with wide and terrified eyes. “The chocolate.”

“You… _why?_ ”

Ben frowned. “Because you’re you,” he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re so sweet and light and kind and friendly and I just… Remember the New Year party?” he asked abruptly.

“The party?” Rey repeated dumbly, still processing his words.

Ben’s lips twisted into a soft wistful smile that lit up his whole face. Rey was entranced.

“Your first one with us. When you wore that gorgeous sparkly dress. Mom decorated the Christmas tree with this candy and…”

“Oh my God!” she squeaked, remembering with mortification the exact moment when she’d tried the chocolate for the first time and Gwen had had to ask her to keep her moans T-rated.

“That’s what I thought,” Ben agreed dreamily. “I just wanted to make sure you always had access to something you liked so much.”

“That’s…” Rey had no idea how to put into words her amazement at his Good Samaritan inclinations… and then something in her head clicked. “Ben, who knows about this?”

He flushed again. Even the tips of his ears turned pink, which was, admittedly, quite adorable. “Um, I may have asked a few people not to touch your candy.”

“ _Who_ , Ben?”

He winced. “Everyone.”

“ _Everyone_?! How come _I_ didn’t know about this?” Rey was shocked. How could she not have noticed something of this magnitude, something that involved her two favorite things at New Republic: her candy and her hot crush? “You buy me a shit ton of freaking expensive chocolate for the whole god-damn year and _I have no idea_? Why didn’t you say anything?”

At that moment Ben didn’t look one bit of his intense dominating self, more like a flustered teen bring interrogated by his mother. “Rey, you’re _you_ , and I’m _me_. A human disaster,” he continued before she had a chance to get offended. “I can’t open my mouth without messing up. And you’re scary,” he mumbled, staring at his shoes.

“ _Me_?!”

“Freaking terrifying,” Ben confessed. “I have no idea how to behave around pretty girls.”

Rey blinked. Then blinked again. “You think I’m pretty,” she said incredulously.

Ben blinked. “Of course I do. You’re gorgeous. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You’re…”

If Rey had been a better woman, she would have listened patiently to Ben Solo waxing poetic over her beauty. But she was her greedy feral sand goblin self, the one who had pined for a year over someone she couldn’t get her hands on, so now that she could, she did exactly that. Put her hands on Ben, that is, or, more accurately, grabbed his collar, yanked the tall oblivious idiot down, and crushed her lips to his.

For a second nothing happened. Rey even started to worry that she had read it all wrong, though how you could read wrong someone who had smuggled you candy for a whole year she had no idea, until Ben firmly cradled her head in his bear paws and kissed her back. And boy, _did he deliver_. Apparently, shy awkward Ben who couldn’t talk with pretty girls had no problem using his mouth for _other_ things. His dominating personality returned with a vengeance, taking full control of the kiss, something Rey welcomed eagerly. Hell, if she had known Ben could be like _this,_ she would have climbed him that first New Year party, candy be damned.

Reluctantly, they parted for air, pressing their foreheads together. Ben’s arms settled firmly around her waist, keeping her in place. Ha, as if Rey would be running anywhere.

“Hi,” she smiled at him.

“Hi,” Ben responded bashfully, reverting to his puppy-dog-eyed self from five minutes ago.

“So I take it you like me,” Rey joked, trying to break the tension.

He gave her a soft, slightly crooked grin. “You have no idea.”

“I think I do now,” she responded, toying with the soft hair at the nape of his neck, something she had always dreamed of. In her head her mental tags updated themselves: _Not Actually Unrequited Love, Miscommunication, Shy Ben, Soft Boi Ben Solo, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Idiots to Lovers, Idiots in Love, M for Language_ , because fuck, Rey had a few choice words about her and Ben’s cognitive abilities.

“Rey?” he asked her softly, startling her from her musing.

“Mmm?”

“May I kiss you again?”

How was she supposed to say no when he asked so sweetly? “Please.”

They say practice makes perfect. Rey was fairly sure Ben would kill her if he got any better than this. The man did wicked things to her and she hadn’t even gotten him out of that sexy suit yet. Huh, why _hadn’t_ she gotten him out of that sexy suit yet? Maybe she should…

A loud buzzing from Ben’s pocked unexpectedly interrupted their make-out session. He fished his phone out and cursed.

Rey frowned. “What?”

“I have to lock down the office,” he said apologetically.

“Right,” she nodded. “Give me a second.” With utter satisfaction, Rey added Ben’s candy to her stash, threw everything into her bag, grabbed her already packed laptop, and twined her fingers with Ben’s. “Let’s go.”

Over the next few minutes he relieved her of her laptop (but not her candy, mind you), picked up his own things, turned the lights off, and locked the office.

“So?” Ben asked on the way to his car.

“So?” Rey responded distractedly, mentally updating the tags again: _Romantic Fluff, Resolved Sexual Tension, Rating Will Change, The Thirst Is Real, E for…_

“Do you need a lift?” he prodded. “I know you take the bus…”

Bus? What bus? Rey had something completely different in mind. Something that didn’t include the two of them going their separate ways. “Right. Um, Ben, I think what we did wasn’t very responsible,” she said innocently, making doe eyes at him.

His face fell and he let go of her hand. “Oh.”

“You know, taking into consideration the whole virus thing,” Rey continued nonchalantly, trailing her now free hand up his chest and playing with his tie. “So now that we both might be contagious I think it would be best to spend our quarantine together.” She paused, waiting for the information to settle in. “What do you think?”

Ben’s face lit up like Christmas came early. “S-sure. We’re responsible adults here.”

“Definitely,” she agreed.

“So your place or mine?” Ben was valiantly attempting to channel back his aloof persona. It was truly adorable, especially when his flushed ears were a dead giveaway. Good thing Rey had a soft spot for soft boys.

“Yours,” she responded promptly.

“Good,” he approved. “Mine is closer.”

“And I bet your bed is bigger,” Rey agreed cheerfully.

Ben stumbled and almost fell flat on his face. “Careful!”

Sitting in Ben’s car, his gorgeous, expensive, comfortable car, Rey split up a marzipan bar and offered half to him. As he accepted with a smile, she marveled that she had managed to end up this lucky. On the one hand, Rey had gotten a ton of candy, on the other, a very hot, albeit secretly bashful, armcandy. And now Ben was taking her home where, if she had any say in it, they would earn that E rating. Rey smiled contentedly. As far as quarantines go, this wasn’t bad. Not bad at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, my boss gave the whole (admittedly, very small) office hand sanitizers. And yes, we love her to the moon and back.


End file.
